BNN previously reported that Prigozhin’s private plane Embraer Legacy 600 crashed on the 23rd of August, carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the mercenary group Wagner, and nine other people. Prigozhin’s death has been confirmed after DNS analysis of the bodies found in the crash, citing Russian officials, reports BBC.
The Investigative Committee (SK) through molecular genetic testing
has confirmed the identities of all 10 victims,
matching the flight’s passenger list. The SK reported that the criminal investigation continues.
Victims on the plane include Wagner group high-ranking members, including the head of Wagner’s military operations
Dmitry Utkin as well as Valery Chekalov, Sergei Propustin, Yevgeny Makaryan, Alexander Totmin and Nikolai Matuseev. The aircraft’s pilots were Alexey Levshin and Rustam Karimov, with flight attendant Kristina Raspopova.
The crash followed Prigozhin’s uprising against Russian forces two months earlier, causing speculation about the cause.
The Kremlin denies responsibility for the crash.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Friday, the 25th of August, that all rumours of Kremiln’s involvement in the plane crash were an “absolute lie”.
On Thursday, the 24th of August, Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and described Prigozhin as a “talented man” who had made mistakes.
Read also: VIDEO | Putin finally speaks about Prigozhin’s death